The Saga of the Volsungs

by Jackson Crawford

  He said, "There will be fields, where you saw a river, and when we walk in the fields big barbs will often stick to our feet."

  "I dreamed," she said, "that your sheets were burning and that the flames leapt high from our hall."

  He said, "I know exactly what that means. Our clothes are in disorderly piles, and they will burn, even though you think you saw sheets."

  "I dreamed that a bear came inside," she said, "and the bear destroyed Gunnar’s throne and it struck out with its paws and we were all afraid, and then it took all of us in its mouth and we were paralyzed, and the horror was terrible."

  He said, "There will be a great storm, when you dream about a polar bear."

  "I dreamed that an eagle came inside," she said, "and he flew the length of the hall and drenched me and everybody else all in blood. And that must mean evil is coming, because I thought the eagle was the spirit of King Atli."

  {71} He said, "We often kill and butcher big steers for our meals, and when you dream about an eagle, it’s a symbol for a steer, and Atli will be faithful to us."

  And with this, their conversation ended.

  Chapter 35. Gunnar and Hogni Visit Atli

  [compare Atlakviða (Atlakvitha), st. 10–13, in the Poetic Edda]

  Now it is told that much the same happened when Gunnar awoke. His wife Glaumvor told him many of her dreams and said she thought it was likely that Atli would betray them. But Gunnar interpreted all of her dreams the opposite way.

  "This was one of them," she said. "I dreamed that a bloody sword was brought into the hall, and you were stabbed through with it, and wolves howled on either end of the sword."

  King Gunnar said, "Some small dogs will want to bite me. Barking dogs are often what dreams about bloody swords mean."

  She said, "I had another dream. Some women came in, and they were sad, and they wanted to marry you. It may be that these were your family spirits."

  He said, "It’s not easy to interpret this dream correctly, but no one can postpone his death-day. And it’s not unlikely that I have only a short time left."

  And in the morning they woke up and wanted to go, though others tried to hold them back.

  Then Gunnar said to a man named Fjornir, "Get up and give us good wine to drink from our big cups, because it may be that this will be our last feast and the wolf will take over our gold if we die, and the bear will fight him for it with snapping jaws."

  Then the troops mustered, and the women wept. One of Hogni’s sons said, "Farewell, and good luck."

  They left the bigger part of their army behind. Sólar and Snævar, sons of Hogni, came with them, and so did a great champion named Orkning, brother of Hogni’s wife Kostbera.

  {72} Many people followed them to their ships and tried to talk them out of the journey, but to no avail.

  Then Gunnar’s wife Glaumvor said, "Vingi, it is likely that bad luck will be the result of your errand. Important events await on your journey."

  He answered, "I swear that I am not lying, and may a high rope hang me and demons too, if one word was a lie." And he wasn’t ashamed to speak in such terms.

  Kostbera said, "Farewell, and good luck."

  And Hogni answered to the women, "Be cheerful, whatever happens to me."

  Now husbands and wives were parted, and with them their fates. The men rowed with such strength and strain that their ship’s keel was half submerged. They rowed hard with their oars so that they broke top and bottom. And when finally they came to land, they did not anchor their ships.

  Now they rode their excellent horses through the dark forest a while, until they saw King Atli’s home. They heard a great noise and the clashing of weapons from there, and they saw a big crowd of men and the preparations they were busy making. The whole town wall was full of men.

  They rode up to the wall, and it was locked. But Hogni broke down the gate, and in they rode.

  Then Vingi said, "It would be better if you hadn’t done that. Wait here while I find a hanging-tree for you. I invited you here pleasantly enough, but there was deception underneath. Now it won’t be long before you’re both hanged!"

  Hogni said, "We’re not going to give in to you easily, and I don’t think we’re likely to be scared when the fighting starts. It’s no good to try to scare us—we’ll pay it all back to you ferociously."

  Gunnar and Hogni kicked Vingi down, and beat him to death with their axe handles.

  Chapter 36. Concerning the Battle

  [compare Atlakviða (Atlakvitha), st. 14–17, in the Poetic Edda]

  Now they rode to the king’s hall. King Atli had prepared his army for battle, and the troops were standing on either end of a large yard.

  {73} "Be welcome here with us," said King Atli, "and give me the golden treasure that is my proper inheritance—the money that was Sigurð’s, and now belongs to Guðrún."

  Gunnar said, "You’ll never get that treasure, and you have good warriors to face before you’ll see us dead, if you propose to fight us. It may be that you’ve indeed set a fine table, but that you’ve set it for the eagles and the wolves, and you’ll be a generous host."

  "I have been plotting for a long time," said Atli, "to kill the two of you, and to have all the gold for my own and pay you back for the cowardly work you did when you killed your heroic brother-in-law, and I mean to avenge him."

  Hogni said, "It will be worse for you the longer you think about it. You’re not ready for us."

  And now a hard battle started, and to begin with it was an archer’s battle. The news reached Guðrún, and when she heard about the battle, she stood up, strode forward, and threw off her cloak. She went out and greeted the guests, kissing her brothers and showing them her love, and this was their last greeting.

  She said, "I thought I’d seen to it that you wouldn’t come, but no one can fight fate." Then she asked: "Would it do any good to propose a peaceful settlement?"

  All the men rejected this immediately. And when Guðrún saw that her brothers were the victims of foul play, her heart hardened and she put on a chainmail shirt and took up a sword and fought alongside her brothers and fought as hard as the fiercest man, and everyone agrees that there could hardly be a tougher defensive action than they fought there. There was a tremendous loss of life, and no one fought harder than Gunnar and Hogni.

  The battle lasted a long time, all the way through midday. Gunnar and Hogni pushed through the ranks of King Atli’s soldiers, and it is said that the valley was drowning in blood. Hogni’s sons also fought their way forward hard.

  Then King Atli said, "I have a big army of free men and great champions, but now many have died, and I have much to repay you for killing nineteen of my champions. I have only eleven left."

  Now there was a pause in the battle. King Atli said, "I was one of four brothers, and I am the only survivor. But I married well, and I thought this would increase my fame. I had a beautiful and wise wife, {74} fire-spirited and hard-hearted, but I could barely enjoy her wisdom because we were seldom at peace. Now you have killed many of my kinsmen, and robbed me of my kingdom and treasure, and betrayed my sister, and that is the worst of my sufferings."

  Hogni said, "Why do you talk like this? You broke the peace first. You took a kinswoman of mine and murdered her by starving her to death. Then you took her wealth, and that was hardly kingly behavior. I think it’s laughable to hear you airing your grievances, and I will thank the gods for whatever bad things befall you."

  Chapter 37. The Death of Gunnar and Hogni

  [compare Atlakviða (Atlakvitha), st. 18–33, in the Poetic Edda]

  Now King Atli urged his men forward into a forceful charge, and the fighting was fierce. Gunnar and Hogni attacked so hard that King Atli was forced back into his hall, and the fighting continued inside and became extremely violent. The battle caused huge loss of life, and it ended with the death of Gunnar and Hogni’s entire army, so that the two of them were fighting alone, and many men went to Hel who were sent there by their weapons.
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  Now King Atli’s men set upon King Gunnar, and because of their massive advantage in numbers they were able to capture him and put him in chains. Then Hogni kept fighting with great energy and reckless courage, and he killed twenty of King Atli’s best champions. He shoved many of them into the fire that blazed in the middle of the hall. They all agreed that they had never before seen such a man. But in the end he was overwhelmed by their numbers and put in chains.

  King Atli said, "It is a great wonder how many men Hogni has killed. Now cut out his heart and let that be his end."

  Hogni said, "Do as you like. I’ll await it cheerfully, whatever you decide to do, and you’ll know that my heart isn’t afraid. I’ve endured hard things before, and I was always eager to prove my manliness before I was injured. But now I have multiple wounds and you alone can decide what will happen to me."

  {75} But one of King Atli’s advisors said, "I have a better plan. Let us take the slave Hjalli rather than Hogni. He’s a slave made for dying, and he could never live long enough to be anything but bad anyway."

  The slave heard and shouted and tried to run away to where he thought he could hide himself. He said he did not deserve this kind of rough treatment, and that he was being badly repaid for his hard work. He said it was an evil day if he was going to die and be deprived of his comfortable living and his pig farming. But they caught him and put the knife to him, and he screamed very high before he felt the knifeblade.

  Then Hogni spoke up, as few men would have the courage to do in such a place. He told them to let the slave live, and said that he didn’t want to hear the man’s screams, and that he himself would have an easier time taking this punishment. The slave was overjoyed, and his life was spared.

  Now both Gunnar and Hogni were put in chains. And King Atli told King Gunnar that he would have to tell him where the gold was if he wanted to live. Gunnar said, "First I must see the bloody heart of my brother Hogni."

  Now they took the slave in hand a second time. They cut out his heart, and brought it before King Gunnar.

  Gunnar said, "This is the heart of the coward Hjalli! It is nothing like my bold brother Hogni’s heart, because it’s trembling—and it trembled twice as much in the coward’s chest."

  Now on the orders of King Atli, they went again to Hogni and cut his heart out. And Hogni’s manliness was so great that he laughed while he was put through this torture, and they were all amazed at his fearlessness, and it has long been remembered. They showed Hogni’s heart to Gunnar.

  Gunnar said, "Here you can see the heart of my bold brother Hogni! It is nothing like the coward Hjalli’s heart, because it moves little now, and it moved even less in the brave man’s chest. And now, Atli, you will lose your life, and I will lose mine. Now I am the only one who knows where the gold is, and Hogni can no longer tell you. I was always in doubt while the two of us lived, but now I am certain the secret is safe with me alone. Let the river Rhine have the treasure and let the Huns never wear it."

  {76} King Atli said, "Take the prisoner away." And this was done.

  Guðrún summoned her servants and then went to Atli and said, "Let your fate treat you as badly as you have treated your promises to me and Gunnar!"

  King Gunnar was put into a snake-pit. There were many snakes inside, and his hands were tied together tight. Guðrún threw a harp to him, and he showed his skill and played the harp with great talent, plucking the strings with his toes. He played so well and skillfully that few thought they had heard playing as good even when they had heard the harp played with the hands. And Gunnar played so well and long that the vipers all fell asleep, except for one big, cruel snake that slithered up to him and dug in with its fangs and pierced all the way to his heart, and in this way Gunnar died while showing great courage.

  Chapter 38. Guðrún’s Revenge

  [compare Atlakviða (Atlakvitha), st. 34–45, in the Poetic Edda]

  Now King Atli believed he had won a great victory, and he told Guðrún this mockingly and with a cruel voice. He said, "Guðrún, you have lost your brothers, and the fault is your own."

  She said, "You’re feeling satisfied now, when you declare these murders in my presence, but it may be that you’ll regret it when you experience what’s coming. The life that is left to you won’t ever lose its bleakness, and things won’t go well for you while I live."

  He said, "We ought to make a settlement between us. I’d like to repay you for your brothers with whatever gold and precious jewels you like."

  She said, "For a long time I’ve been hard for you to live with, although it might have been otherwise if you had let even just Hogni live.

  "But now you will never be able to repay me for their lives in a way I will accept. Women are often overpowered by men’s violence, and now all my kin are dead, and I have you alone to obey. I will choose this: let us have a great feast prepared, and I will do honor to the passing of my brothers and to your own kinsmen."

  {77} She spoke pleasantly, but underneath her words she was unchanged. Atli was easily persuaded, and he believed what she said when she acted as if her heart had softened. Guðrún held the funeral feast for her brothers, and King Atli for his men, and it was a lively feast.

  Now Guðrún thought of her miseries and how she might inflict some great humiliation on Atli. During the evening she took her and King Atli’s sons up from where they were playing by a wall. The boys were sullen and asked what they had to do.

  She said, "Don’t ask. You are both going to die."

  They said, "You can do what you want with your own children, and no one will forbid it. But there is shame for you in doing this."

  Then she cut their heads off.

  The king asked later where his sons were. Guðrún said, "I’ll tell you, and it will cheer your heart. You gave me untold misery when you killed my brothers. Now hear what I have to say: your sons are lost to you, and these are their skulls here for drinking cups, and you’ve drunk their blood mixed with wine. I took their hearts and cooked them on a spit, and you ate them."

  King Atli said, "You’re a cruel woman who has murdered her own sons and given me their flesh to eat. And you don’t let much time pass between bad deeds."

  Guðrún said, "My great wish is to hurt you awfully. I’ll never be able to fully repay all the cruel deeds of such an evil king as you."

  Atli said, "You’ve done worse things than anyone has ever heard of. It’s foolish to do such hard-hearted things, and it would be proper if you were burned on a funeral pyre after being stoned to death; then you’d have what you’ve deserved."

  She said, "You make this prophecy, but my fate is a different death." And they said many other hateful things to each other.

  Hogni had a surviving son who was named Niflung. He hated Atli, and he told Guðrún that he wanted to avenge his father. She took this well and they conspired together. Guðrún told him there would be great luck in avenging his father, if he could accomplish it. And during the evening, after King Atli had been drinking, he fell asleep. Once he was sleeping, Guðrún and Niflung came, and Guðrún took up a sword and stabbed Atli in the chest. This was the plan she had made with Niflung.

  {78} King Atli woke up when he felt the strike and said, "There won’t be any need to bandage or doctor this injury, but who are you who killed me?"

  Guðrún said, "The blame is partly on me, and partly on Hogni’s son."

  Atli said, "This was not an honorable deed, even if there was some cause for it. You were married to me with your family’s blessing, and I paid the price they set for you, thirty good knights and good young women, and many other followers besides. But you could not abide it unless you controlled all the lands that belonged to my father King Buðli, and you have often left your mother-in-law in tears."

  Guðrún said, "You’ve told lie after lie. I don’t care. I was often hard to get along with, and you made it worse. There has often been strife in your home, and your kinsmen and friends have often fought one another, and each started fe
uds with another.

  "My life was better when I was with Sigurð. We would kill kings and take their wealth. And we gave peace to those who wanted it, and great chieftains came and submitted to us and we let them keep their realms if they wished. But then I lost him. I could have endured staying a widow, but not being married to you, a man who has never been on the better side of any battle, not when I had been married to the best king."

  King Atli said, "That is not true, but this argument won’t make you or me happier, and I am already defeated. Now do me some honor, and let my funeral be prepared nobly."

  She said, "I will let you have an honorable burial, and I will order a worthy stone coffin built for you. I will weave handsome cloths to wrap your body in, and I will attend to every other need."

  After this he died, and Guðrún did as she had promised. And afterwards she burned his hall down, and when his handpicked men woke up in the hour before dawn, they did not want to burn, and they killed each other with their weapons instead. And in this way the life of King Atli, and every one of his best men, was ended. Guðrún did not wish to live after this, but her death-day had not yet come. And now the hostilities ended in this way, for a while.

  It is said that the Volsungs and the children of Gjúki were the proudest and noblest people who have been told of in the ancient poems.

  {79} Chapter 39. The Marriage of King Jónakr to Guðrún

  [compare the prose introduction to Guðrúnarhvot (Guthrunarhvot) in the Poetic Edda]

  Guðrún had a daughter with Sigurð named Svanhild. She was the most beautiful of all women, and she had fierce eyes like her father’s, so that few dared to look her in the eye. She was more beautiful than other women, just as the sun is brighter than all other lights in the sky.

  Guðrún went to the sea one day and put her arms around a large stone and then threw herself to the ocean. She wanted to die. But the waves took her up, and she floated to the town of King Jónakr. He was a powerful king with a large following. He married Guðrún, and they had three sons: Hamðir, Sorli, and Erp. Svanhild was brought up there as well.